MAC Controversy Over Mexico-Inspired Collection

 Their line of cosmetics also exemplifies the colorful culture of Mexico, which is why the different products are named things like Quinceañera and Ghost Town - but it's the names, Factory and Juarez that have caused extreme controversy. Who knew little bottles of nail polish held so much power.
The blogger, Jessica Wakeman, probably never thought her name would be in plenty of headlines, nor that MAC would actually listen to her rant on the Juarez and Factory nail colors. She wrote in her July 15th blog:

"But they’ve also tastelessly named their nail polishes Juarez (a pink frost) and Factory (a mint frost). Why’s it tasteless? Juarez is an impoverished Mexican factory town notorious for the number of women between the ages of 12 and 22 who have been raped and murdered with little or no response from police."

Well, MAC did listen. They are in the process of changing the names and have also planned to donate a portion of proceeds to the crime infested city. While I don't believe they were being purposely "tasteless," it's wonderful to know they do listen. They responded to the complaints:

"“We understand that product names in the MAC Rodarte collection have offended some of our consumers and fans.  This was never our intent and we are very sorry. MAC will give a portion of the proceeds from the MAC Rodarte collection to help those in need in Juarez. We are diligently investigating the best way to do this.  Please be assured that we will keep you posted on the details regarding our efforts.”

What I find interesting is that Rodarte's Autumn/Winter clothing collection drew inspiration from these cities, but hardly received this much complaint. Their pieces were brilliantly eery and dreamlike. They acknowledged the little city in the vintage lace and colorful embroidery. The show would not have ended with the theme of death, if the two designers hadn't realized the hardships of the town. The audience could visibly see the pain and sadness which was translated onto the clothing of the collection.

If Wakeman wants response from the police and from bystanders, then raising her voice over the MAC and Rodarte collection has helped to at least highlight the cause. While the city of Juarez is now acknowledged, I don't feel she should receive all the credit. Without these designers, these cities would still be unacknowledged. I'm just curious as to where she was when Rodarte's Fall Ready-to-Wear collection launched on the runway. Or where she was when MAC came out with a product named Jizz.

For those who don't look at the controversial aspect of the line, fans are definitely excited, regardless of the names.